Swansea City 2 AFC Bournemouth 2: Ayew, Shelvey rescue draw for Monk´s side

Andre Ayew and Jonjo Shelvey salvaged a point for Swansea City as they came from two goals down to draw 2-2 with AFC Bournemouth at the Liberty Stadium.

Eddie Howe’s team stormed ahead following an energetic start, Joshua King’s first Premier League goal added to by Dan Gosling in the 26th minute.

However, Swansea pulled one back two minutes later with Ayew finding the net with a brilliant backheel, despite calls for offside.

And Garry Monk’s side went into the break level as the Ghanaian won a debatable penalty off Simon Francis, which Shelvey duly dispatched.

Bournemouth pressed with intensity in the second half but were unable to add to retake the lead, ending their run of four straight top-flight defeats but leaving them without a win in seven.

The result will not alleviate the mounting pressure on Swansea boss Monk, whose side now have just one win from their past nine Premier League fixtures.

Monk made four changes from the defeat to Norwich City, with Bafetimbi Gomis, Jefferson Montero, Gylfi Sigurdsson and Federico Fernandez all dropped to the bench.

One of the beneficiaries was Kyle Bartley, but his clearance ricocheted off Ki Sung-yueng and enabled Junior Stanislas to square for King to slide in Bournemouth’s opener inside 10 minutes.

Swansea responded impressively but were denied an instant reply, Adam Federici rushing off his line to divert Wayne Routledge’s effort around the post before denying Eder – making his first Premier League start – from six-yards off the resulting corner.

Bournemouth were unperturbed and, after Lukasz Fabianski kept out King, they added their second with 26 minutes on the clocks as Gosling picked out the top corner with an emphatic first-time finish from Matt Ritchie’s pass.

Swansea halved the deficit almost immediately when Ayew beat Federici with a brilliant piece of improvisation, using his heel to find the bottom corner amidst calls for offside from the Bournemouth players.

With half-time approaching, Swansea were offered the chance to restore parity when Ayew benefitted from another controversial decision as he went to ground inside the box under minimal contact from Francis.

The referee awarded a penalty that Shelvey converted, firing the ball into the bottom corner and out of Federici’s reach.

The rain poured down in the second half, making the surface slick and leading to more long balls from the two sides.

Bournemouth remained dangerous and, on the hour-mark, Cook volleyed wide from a tight angle following Eder’s wayward headed clearance.

Howe’s side’s intense pressing maintained the pressure on Swansea, so Monk introduced Montero, Sigurdsson and Gomis by the 73rd minute in an attempt to turn the tide.

But while Montero’s pace offered them a more direct attacking outlet on the left, there was to be no winning goal as the spoils were shared.